A couple of years ago, when I began taking my health seriously, I started to become curious about organic makeup and skincare. I figured that there was no point buying organic vegetables, if I was going to continue slathering chemicals onto my skin…

And why are natural beauty products so damn important?

The reality is that we absorb a BIG percentage of what we put on our skin. And with most commercial cosmetics and skincare products containing huge amounts of toxic, irritating, carcinogenic, endocrine-disrupting (read: hormonal sh*t-storm inducing) ingredients such as petroleum, phthalates, parabens, sulphates, lead, preservatives, aluminium and more… It’s a wee bit scary.

Because here’s the thing: The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics in the US estimate that an average woman use as many as 12 products containing 168 chemicals a day. This article here on The Breast Cancer Fund website explains the link between the chemicals in our cosmetics and breast cancer.

There’s also minimal regulation and required testing in Australia for many of the chemicals that are used in our skincare and cosmetics, so just because it’s on the shelf (or even if it says ‘natural’ or ‘organic’), doesn’t mean it’s safe. Tip: Look for the certification. I encourage you to read the ingredient listings on your products and check out their toxicity level at the awesome website Skin Deep.

But fret not! Because there are some AMAZING non-toxic, natural beauty products on the market today.

And while we could all run away screaming and wear nothing on our mugs ever again, that’s both unrealistic and not fun. I love getting dolled up just as much as the next gal, and we all have the right to look and feel beautiful, without risking our health.

So I’m going to share my favourite products with you over this two-part blog series. Because the thing is, before I started switching over, I had resigned to the false notion that by ‘going organic’ I’d be taking a step backwards in quality, pigment and functionality of the product. Ha! I could not have been more wrong. If anything, these products are FAR superior to their chemically-laden (and often tested on animals) cousins.

So here are my favourite non-toxic, natural beauty products in my makeup and cosmetic bag. You can find Part 2: Skin Care right here.

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Foundation & Concealer

Inika Mineral Foundation| Fantastic coverage, natural shades and an even, matte finish. I’ve used this foundation religiously now for two years and will be a loyal customer forever.

B Kind Organic Concealer | I’ve tried a few other natural concealers in my time (and chemical-laden ones for that matter) and by FAR this is the best concealer I have ever used. No watery, weak coverage here – this stuff does exactly what it’s meant to! Love it.

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Bronzer & Blush

La Mav Sunkissed Bronzer | Again, I’ve tried a few other natural bronzers and have found the colours to be a bit off. This one however, gives such a natural glow without too much shimmer or orange-esque tones. It’s also certified organic, infused with Rosehip oil and Vitamin C. Win.

Zuii Certified Organic Flora Blush| I love the soothing ingredients and pretty shades. And with such fantastic pigment, you need only a sweep for rose-infused cheeks. Glow Town.

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Eyeshadow

Zuii Certified Organic Flora Eyeshadow | The pigment in these eyeshadows is amazing! Soft and creamy, they blend so beautifully. I never used to wear a lot of eyeshadow, but since purchasing these, I’m becoming a bit of a convert… They’re also enriched with vitamins, minerals, chamomile, jasmine and are of course, crap-free.

NOTE: I don’t wear pencil eyeliner, but I am planning on purchasing a new organic liquid eyeliner very soon, so will update this post when I do…

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Mascara

B Kind Natural Volumising Mascara | This is definitely the best natural mascara I’ve tried and I’m really fussy when it comes to my eyelashes. I like ’em long, thick and black.

But I’ll be completely honest with you – unlike every other product I’ve mentioned here, I still haven’t found a natural mascara that does what my “old” mascara did. I’ve been using a non-organic mascara recently for when I want that extra *oomph* (one that is vegan, cruelty free and contains no ingredient that ranks higher than a 3 on the Skin Deep toxicity scale – not bad), so would LOVE to hear of anyone’s suggestions for organic mascaras that achieve that look!

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Lips

B Kind Organic Lip Gloss | This stuff is super glossy, sheer and delicious. Which is lucky, because it’s organic, so you could probably eat it if you felt like it. I wear this lip gloss all day erryday. Also vegan and cruelty free.

Harraw! Lip Balm | Big fan of these balms. The only problem is you can’t stop at one – there’s so many colours and flavours to choose from! Organic, fair trade, vegan and containing raw ingredients such as almond oil, coconut oil and shea butter, these balms are super nourishing and super unique.

NOTE: I am hunting for a new organic lipstick for my birthday that’s coming up… Stay tuned for an update.

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Brushes

Inika Kabuki Brush | Perfect for applying their mineral foundation, this brush is awesome. It’s even won awards. I’ve had mine for a couple of years now and it’s still going strong. All Inika’s brushes are also 100% vegan and cruelty free.

Inika Eyeshadow Brush | Soft, silky and the perfect shape for blending and contouring. I haven’t used it as a concealer brush, but apparently you can. 🙂

La Mav Vegan Kabuki Makeup Brush | Love this brush! So incredibly soft, I use this to apply La Mav’s bronzer (but often feel like sweeping it all over my whole face it feels so damn good), and it’s also 100% vegan and certified cruelty free.

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Now for a few more selfies. For product application purposes, of course!

So there you have it, my personal natural makeup and cosmetic favourites. I’ve still got lots more experimenting and playing to do in this department, so would LOVE to hear any suggestions or product/brand recommendations you might have in the comments! You can find Part 2 of my Natural Beauty Products series which is skin care right here.

Of course, natural beauty starts from WITHIN so if you’re looking at cleaning up your insides and glowing from the inside out, you will LOVE my eBook She Is Radiant: Your 6-Week Wellness Adventure To Get Glowy & Feel Rad. You can read more about it here.

PLEASE share this post with your lady-pals. We’re all worthy of super sexy health and beautiful products to boot. Mwah!

Love Claire x

I’d love to send you some love.

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15 Comments

ConorAug 05, 2014 @ 08:17

Great post, it can be hard to find awesome natural products! Mascara does seem to be the hardest, I have tried Ilia (flaked off really quickly), Physicians Formula Organic (dry, no volume), and RMS (best of the bunch, but still not as good as my old ‘dirty’ mascara). High pigment non drying lipstick is also an ongoing challenge, I have a couple of Ilia which have good pigment, but they are a bit drying and don’t last too well. I mostly use Karen Murrell as they are really creamy and have great colour, they are not organic but use primarily natural ingredients. Vapour Organics do a good tint, but it is more like a tinted balm. I had never heard of BKind so thanks for the tip!

Love this post. I’ve been really trying to switch to all vegan cruelty-free make up but have found it hard to navigate through the multitudes of products available (not to mention how pricey they often are)! I recently purchased some mineral foundation from Dusty Girls. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet but I’ve heard heaps of good things, and, as a student, I found that it was reasonably priced as well which is always a plus. Looking forward to your skin care post!

Oooh, I haven’t heard of Dusty Girls. Must check them out. I agree, sometimes the price is more expensive than generic commercial makeup but I feel it is definitely worth it. I remember what it’s like being a student though! 😉

Mascara is tricky – it’s difficult to formulate an organic and cruelty free mascara due to the composition. Traditional mascaras contain all sorts of scary things (from bat guano to parabens!). We are working on bringing one to market, however.

Hi Claire,
Thanks so much for your article! I’ve recently started trying to find natural and organic skin
products and agree it is really hard to find authentic products amongst all the advertising fabrication. Are there any cleansers, shampoos or conditioners that you can recommend? I’ve recently start using Sukin though would like to try some other products also.
Thanks =)

Have you tried the 100% Pure mascara? I was really surprised with it and will re-purchase as I love it. I am blessed with long eyelashes though so don’t need so much ‘oomph’. I would still recommend giving it a go though 🙂

Super helpful to have a personal recommendations rather than trialling and erroring my way through different products, so thanks!
I use Ere Perez natural mascara (found at most organic stores in Melbourne) and really like it myself – it uses almond oil so glides on smoothly and keeps lashes moisturized 🙂

Claire, I loooove Inika too 🙂 I have also used Adorne liquid foundation which gives great coverage and a great matte look! Ere Perez mascara is devine and last all day long! Just what a busy wellness warrior like yourself needs. Gem x

CLASS ENROLLING NOW

HI! I'M CLAIRE BAKER.

I'm an Australian women's coach and writer living in London. I teach the art of self-care, creative rekindling and how to live life by your menstrual cycle via my eBooks, workshops and online courses. I believe in telling the truth about our everyday (the ups and the downs) and I try my best to do that here. Twice a month-ish I email my community all the best bits. Can I include you?